DA sniffs around Zumaung

2012-12-19 13:01

Sibongile Mafu

The decision is final. The ANC has decided. President Jacob
Zuma has been elected as the ANC leader again, securing 2983 of the ANC votingdelegates’ votes,
with Motlanthe securing 991. He will lead the party and the country into 2014
and a vague beyond.

Like a movie

Mangaung has made for interesting viewing over the last few
days, more specifically, yesterday only. This end of year party masquerading as
a national conference didn’t grab my attention over the weekend, where I found
myself reconciling with cocktails and sunsets during the Cape Town heatwave,
but yesterday’s events really pulled me in.

I didn’t want to care about a decision that was inevitable
and had very little to do with me. I knew that the ANC would elect Zuma,
regardless of the amount of kicking and screaming that came from people on the
sidelines. I knew that temporary Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe would lose
by a large margin. He will now have to leave the tribal council area
immediately. I observed anyway. It was like watching a movie you’ve seen
countless times before, a movie whose plotline you can recite backwards and
forwards, but a movie which continues to surprise you even though you know
what’s coming.

When the voting results came through that Zuma had trampled
on Monthlanthe, I feigned some mild shock at the dramatic nature of the
beating, knowing that it was, for the most part expected. I didn’t however
expect the sheer number of young people who’d enquire about joining the
Democratic Alliance when it was announced. The drama! Is the Zuma dislike so
powerful that one individual is linked to the ideals of the entire party, where
people will exit en masse because of his selection? The amount of people using
social media to communicate with the likes of DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe
Mazibuko and DA leader Helen Zille, asking about “where I can find DA forms”
was incredibly odd.

Keep calm. Kind of...

What moved me even more was the preparedness of the DA for
such a reaction. They were ready with their avatars (the unimaginative Keep
Calm and Vote DA) - I’m ready to “Keep Calm and Kill Myself” over this “Keep
Calm” thing – and link people to their sites – a smart move for an opposition
party that has thrived on being an opposition to "the Zuma party."

There was even comment from DA about how the decision by the
ANC to give Zuma a second shot at it was bad news for South Africa. Zille
didn’t waste any time in pointing out that Zuma’s appointment within the ANC,
his party, one she has very little to do with, will “hasten
the ‘disintegration’ and collapse of the ruling party.” She added that many
ANC members and many more ANC voters will feel alienated by the decision in
Mangaung - something she has been banking on.

Zille
has every right to comment. Just like the rest of us. She can be considered a
South African citizen too, regardless of the fact that she’s a DA member. I
kid. Only a little bit. There was a palpable excitement around the DA when the
top 6 was announced, especially Zuma’s selection. The DA was positively
salivating at its party’s future prospects, and the eagerness of trigger-happy
young people who feel there is nothing in the ANC for them anymore.

For the most part, DA will be able
to credit the increase in support for them, not for what they stand for, but
what they stand against, which is for the most part is ANC president Jacob
Zuma. And that is enough for them.

- Sibongile is a videographer, blogger and social media enthusiast who would be nothing without her thumbs. Follow her on Twitter: @SboshMafu.

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